My long-time friend Orlando Sanchez, a Republican and former Harris County Treasurer and Houston City Council Member, is advocating for sensible immigration policy that he calls the Family Stabilization Act (FSA). In his article on TexasGOPVote, Orlando outlines the policy and does a great job explaining why creating a method for undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status makes sense.

Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

Undocumented families who arrived prior to January 20, 2017, would be permitted to apply for legal status under the FSA, provided they were otherwise law-abiding. The application and potential permit, if approved, would be paid in full by the applicants (NOT the taxpayers). If approved, a permit would be valid for five years, and would be eligible for subsequent five-year renewals provided the applicants stayed out of trouble….

While the FSA would allow permit holders to remain in our country legally, it would NOT, under any circumstances, offer them a pathway to citizenship; applicants would only qualify for legal status for purposes of employment and residency. Just as important, they would not skip the line over those legal immigrants who have been waiting – some of them for years – to have their cases approved…

While these people are often hiding in plain sight, removing the legal cloud hanging over them would impart some key benefits. First and foremost, they’d be fuller participants in the economy, with greater rights – but also greater responsibilities, such as paying taxes. Second, federal officials whose duty now is to apprehend and deport undocumented aliens could be redeployed to protecting our porous southern border – without adding a single Border Patrol agent to the federal payroll. Placing additional personnel on the border – both for immigration enforcement and drug interdiction – would help prevent the problem from repeating, as it has for years with lax oversight…

We’re rightly proud that under President Trump, we have a record low unemployment rate. In fact, recent studies suggest job openings outnumber potential workers. How can the economy continue its upward trajectory? One way is by allowing productive workers to continue participating in the economy. By normalizing their status, these workers would be freed from constant worry, and might become even more productive, creating businesses, adding new jobs, and paying more taxes.

Orlando makes some exceptional points.

It's great to see a well respected Republican advocating for sensible immigration policy. Now we need our lawmakers to take action.